Konopnicki went to D.C. last week to meet with the NRCC and a few political consultants to get feedback on his prospective candidacy in CD1, and he’s been touring the district to meet with potential constituents.

If we are to take her staff’s word for it, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will retain — at least — her Democratic seat in Congress in 2012.

In the best-case scenario, she would be the heavy front-runner in a U.S. Senate race with Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, whose early entry into the contest has thus far scared off all other GOP contenders.

Gabrielle Giffords’ surprising and emotional return to Congress sparked a new wave of speculation about 2012, but her political future is no clearer now than it was before she walked in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Udall name has dominated Arizona’s political landscape and beyond for the better part of the 20th century, with Morris King Udall, affectionately known as Mo, the only member of the family to reach for the presidency of the United States — so far.